The first jet carrying equipment and members for Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday.

DART's primary goal is to help with water purification efforts and to establish medical clinics. The plane carried about 180,000 pounds of tents and food.

The team will bring four water purification machines to the area, which can treat a total of up to 200,000 litres a day.

The soldiers sounded excited to finally be in the field. The team hasn't been deployed since 1999.

"I've been with DART for three years now and I'm finally getting deployed so it's a big honor for me to be here," one soldier told CTV News.

While they've been mentally packed since Dec. 26, the plane left Canadian Forces Base Trenton on Thursday.

But there's still a long trip before the team can reach its final destination -- the heavily damaged region of Ampara. Eight thousand people died in that area and hundreds of thousands are homeless.

The 12-hour trip on damaged roads dotted by landmines will be a difficult journey. It will begin for the bulk of the troops on Monday.

One casualty of the drive is a six-year-old girl, who scampered in front of a group of vehicles transporting the advance team on Friday. The vehicle tha struck her was being driven by a local man. The girl suffered a broken leg.

In the town of Komari, where DART will set up one of three camps, the roads and bridges are so broken up that aid can only brought in over water or by four-wheel drive.

Ten vehicles are making the 300-km trip from the airport in Colombo to Ampara, bringing 180,000 pounds in equipment and supplies.

But it's a trip the team has been eagerly anticipating.

"For every hour that there's a delay, there's more illness, there's more people dying. I guess it's a feeling of stress, excitement, a sense of purpose," Capt. Brook Morrison told CTV News.

One unglamorous job for the team will be simple sanitation. Toilets are needed to stop the spread of disease.

"We can dig holes to build septic systems for them so they have a place to dispose of their waste," Col. Michael Voith told CTV News. "So that's the kind of work we'll be looking to do for sanitation."

The soldiers also have to worry about their own health, such as getting used to a tropical climate after living in a Canadian winter one.

"Gotta drink a lot of water, keep hydrated, watch out for one another, that's all," one soldier said.

The area south of Ampara is dotted with landmines -- a holdover from the conflict between the majority Sinhalese and the northern Tamils.

In addition, snakes and scorpions are also potential risks.

Another plane with more personnel will arrive later Saturday.

While the team's visas are good for a month, there's a chance they may be here longer. Some estimate it will be a six-week mission.

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme more equipment and personnel will arrive over the next several days. They should have doctors working in the field by next Wednesday.

With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme